25 Ways to Single Out an American Anywhere in the World

They are always asking for ice.

With the exception of coffee, tea, and a select few other beverages, Americans prefer their drinks cold. Ice cold, that is.

Drinks of all kinds, from cocktails to colas, are served with a glass full of ice. And when that runs low, they add more. When traveling abroad, being served a room temperature beverage with no ice in sight is almost always an American traveler’s first rendezvous with culture shock.

To other cultures, adding ice to these drinks is merely a manner in which to water them down—and why would anyone want that? But to Americans, it’s a way of keeping the drink cold—they often don’t last long enough to get watered down anyway.